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West Bankupdated 28m ago2 min read

Masked Israeli Settlers Attack Abu Falah Olive Harvesters, Burn Olive Trees

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Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked olive harvesters in Abu Falah, burning trees. A Washington Post photographer was beaten and hospitalized during the Abu Falah attacks.

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Masked Israeli Settlers Attack Abu Falah Olive Harvesters, Burn Olive Trees
Image: فلسطين أون لاين
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Olive harvest violence

Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive harvesters and set fire to olive trees during the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, with the violence unfolding around the village of Abu Falah north of Ramallah. Heidi Levine, a Washington Post photojournalist, said she saw “at least 50 masked men” on the hilltop and described being attacked as she was reporting, including being “pushed to the ground.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its crews treated two Palestinians who were beaten during the attack in Abu Falah, including a 63-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man who were transferred to a hospital. The Israeli Defense Force said it would examine “all circumstances surrounding the incident” and stated that, upon arriving, its forces acted to disperse the confrontation using riot dispersal means.

Image from ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Image: ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Reporting for this sectionABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Levine attacked, IDF responds

Jasper Nathaniel, an independent journalist who was on the ground, told Al Jazeera that he saw “a journalist … on the ground [with] people beating her, clubbing her, robbing her.” Levine later said she “probably wouldn’t even be here” had it not been for her helmet and flak jacket, after settlers beat her and stole her camera and phone.

The Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray said the paper was “outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities.” The Israeli military said it “strongly condemns this incident” and added that it viewed any manifestation of violence “with utmost severity.”

Image from Al Jazeera
Image: Al Jazeera
Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Wider pattern and injuries

The attacks spread beyond Abu Falah, with IMEMC News describing colonizers attacking farmers harvesting olives in the eastern part of Burin town and olive harvesters on land belonging to Majdal Bani Fadel south of the city. In Turmus Ayya, local sources said colonizers assaulted farmers in the An-Nab’at area, injuring several people, and set fire to three vehicles, including a vehicle belonging to Palestinian Civil Defense volunteers that was destroyed in the attack.

The BBC reported that a local official said the attacks had injured 12 Palestinians, including four dual Palestinian American citizens, and said a foreign journalist was also among those hurt. The BBC also quoted a US State Department spokesperson condemning “criminal violence by any party in the West Bank and call[ing] for investigations, arrests, and convictions, of those responsible.”

Reporting for this sectionBBC